The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-14
PERSONAL POINTS.
The Quaker Poets Home at Oak
Knoll.

The Quaker Poets Home at Oak
Knoll.
BosToN, Aug ID rode by Whittier's
home at Oak Knoll, Danvers, yesterday,
and admired, as does everyone who sees it,
the country retreat in which the Quaker
poet is spending the evening of his days.
Whittier has never given up entirely his
residence at Amesbury, but passes the
greater part of his time in Danvers with his
nieces, the Johnsons, typical Massachusetts,
women, remarkable for common sense and
quickness of intellect. Oak Knoll, which is
their property, is farm, not q small one
for Eastern Massachusetts,, but laid out with
more regard for picturesque landscape than
strict attention to the crops The head
farmer has his house and his barns at some
remove from the main residence, which is a
rambling wooden building at no great dis
lance from the country road, but SO powered
in trees and overgrown with vines that
strangers often fail to notice it at all. The
JohnsonS are excellent business women and
manage the place to good effect, nOtwith
standing the fact that the country folk say
they value it chiefly because its low hills and
green meadows look like an English plea
saunce, neither Whittier nor his kin having
been across the water The house has a
the white-haired poet, swinging in big,
straight backed, old-fashioned rocking chair
reading, with young girl, the adopted
daughter of the house, by his side. There
are few anecdotes floating about the village
about him for he lives in retired, almost
hermit-like fashion, never mingling with
the people of the town. Now and then when
times are stirring he sends a letter on some
matter of public import to the village paper,
h1It for the most, mart fhp fall hnpkthnTn
hedges that shut in Oak Knoll shut in also
Whittier and the Johnsons from the rest of
the world.
Curious what difference in civilizations
can be marked by lace curtain. A New
Yorker or Brooklynite must have lace cur
tains if she lives in Shantytown. 1t is
necessary to maintain a certain style if you
would have your neighbors respect you or
respect yourself. New England is not
ashamed to be frugal. Economy is the rule
People take it for granted and delight in
their shifts and contrivances. A New Eng
land town, even a prosperous one, won't
average more than one or two pairs of lace
curtains to 1000 inhabitants.
The car which took me out of Boston the
other day had roof that caught my atten-
ton at once. Ithad high peculiar curve,
was paneled in hard wood and supplied
with some three dozen small, round, curious
looking ventilators arranged in a double
row. This new car roof just introduced is
woman's invention, so the conductor told
me when questioned him about it, and is
considered more satisfactory than any form
er device.
New Englanders are of a serious turn of
mind. A good woman whose husband had
taken her to Marblehead for a look at the
Volunteer described the press of carriages
about the yacht clubs headquarters to me
by saying that ''if you didn't know you
would have supposed it was funeral and
the corpse had been popular"
Another illustration TO the same point.
noticed in a New England village post office
the other day a notice tackled upon the wall
to the effect that all persons who desired to
view the remains of Mrs. -- could do SO
at the - church.. between the hours
of 2 and 4 on Sunday. 1t was hot day,
but the church was packed, and the people
in adecorously mournful way enjoyed them
selves.
Yet again; Asbury Grove is the oldest
and best known of the Massachusetts, camp
meeting grounds, and though ones associa-
tions with camp meetings are not altogether
of a solemn order, 1t seemed to me charac-
teristic OF Massachusetts, people that some
400 cottages have been built for all summer
occupancy in and about the enclosure, and
the benches Of the great out Of door audi
forum show fairly large congregation Of
women for weeks before and after the
August afternoon, III front. of the preachers
stand, under the great soughing pine trees
where the sun could Hardly enter, on what
they have for a quarter Of "a century or
more regarded as holy ground. II is not the
summer resort idea Of the average New
Yorker exactly, but the descendant Of the
Puritans is exhilarated rather than depressed
by two Or three months everyday living in
such vicinage